BROOKLYN, N.Y. — The first shot of Shabazz Muhammad's college career was a glimpse of what he can be. The rest of his debut on Monday night showed it will take some time before the much-heralded freshman and the rest of his UCLA teammates can reach their potential.

Muhammad scored 15 points on 5-for-10 shooting, including that first shot, a contested jumper in transition, but No. 11 UCLA could not match a veteran Georgetown team, which scored a 78-70 victory in the semifinals of the Legends Classic at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

The Bruins' loss means they will face Georgia in Tuesday's consolation game, while the Hoyas get a crack at top-ranked Indiana. That may spoil ESPN's plans to show an early-season matchup of two legendary programs ranked in the top 15, but it does not hamper UCLA's plans for a big campaign ahead.

With Muhammad joining a lineup that includes freshmen Jordan Adams, Kyle Anderson and Tony Parker, the Bruins need time to figure things out, and they know it.

"I really wanted to get a shot at them," Muhammad said of Indiana, which pulled away late for a 66-53 win over Georgia in the first Monday game of the Legend Classic. "But we know that we're not ready yet. We're going to practice, and really get this together, and we're going to be a really good team."

Even as Muhammad entered the fray, the Bruins did not have a complete lineup, as Parker sat out with a sore back. UCLA also played most of the second half without starting forward David Wear, who injured his back when he landed hard after a pileup of bodies in the paint.

When Wear left the game, Georgetown had a 36-29 lead. Just over a minute later, it was 43-29 as the Hoyas completed a 12-0 run. The Bruins never got closer than four points the rest of the way — a margin they reached with 11:53 left on another Muhammad jumper.

Muhammad's last points of the game came with 50 seconds left, on a three-pointer with a hand in his face. That may have been the shot on which he most looked like a top NBA prospect, elevating and manipulating his body in the air to get the best angle for his shot.

By that point, it was too little, too late for the Bruins to get back into the game. Muhammad could have picked a better opponent to begin his college career against, but the Hoyas were not his choice — the NCAA made the Las Vegas product sit out the first three games of the season for receiving improper benefits in AAU ball.

"Shabazz missed, basically, the summer, from the standpoint of having a high ankle sprain that kept him out for like nine weeks," UCLA coach Ben Howland said. "So, that was unfortunate for him, and he didn't get to go with us on the trip to China, which was unfortunate."

Where UCLA is fortunate is that Muhammad got to play in a marquee event, which was not the case for Indiana's freshman duo of Hanner Mosquera-Perea and Peter Jurkin, both of whom are awaiting word from the NCAA on when they will be able to make their collegiate debuts and received a warm reception from the Indiana cheering section when they walked through the stands to sit behind the Hoosiers' bench during the first half of the opener.

Muhammad already has been through that, and then some, right down to having Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Flea wear a "Free Shabazz" T-shirt at Pauley Pavilion. With a full beard, NBA hype and a confident voice at a press conference podium, it's easy to forget that Muhammad is only 19 years old, with more eyes on him than he could imagine. The fact that he has handled his situation as well as anything on the court only serves to further the excitement about what he can become.

"It was really exciting getting on the court for the first time," Muhammad said. "I thought we didn't play as well as we could possibly play as a team, but just finally getting the jitters out, and getting comfortable playing college basketball for the first time, it was a good experience. Hopefully I can do better. I think I can do a lot better."

He almost certainly will, and so will the Bruins. They won't get to face Indiana on Tuesday, but it's a matchup that will have everyone's attention if it happens in the spring, not least of all because, by then, Muhammad and the rest of UCLA's freshmen will be ready for that kind of game.